(=_=)
2015-01-02 21:20:19 UTC
I think we need to hear from the people of Lac Mégantic directly.
This is certainly one of the worst, scare-promoting, tarsands-advocating lines
of bullshit from the Harper government to date.
And it clearly underlines the fact that the oil industry cannot guarantee the
safe transport of its bitumen to ANY part of the country. By ANY means.
Time to build more wind turbines and homes with solar panels. These buggers
won't quit until they make NO money from their fracking our country.
__________________________________________
Peter O'Neil, Postmedia News | January 2, 2015
B.C. needs pipeline for public safety, says Tory minister: ‘People of Lac
Mégantic wished they had pipelines’
OTTAWA • Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s B.C. lieutenant said he’s confident a
new oilsands pipeline will eventually be built to the West Coast, and one of
his key arguments for such a megaproject is public safety in the Lower Mainland.
Industry Minister James Moore raised the spectre of the deadly Lac Mégantic
rail disaster that killed dozens in an inferno of blazing oil that engulfed the
Quebec town in the summer of 2013.
“The people of Lac Mégantic wished they had pipelines instead of rail,” said
Moore, who represents the Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam riding.
He pointed to the huge rail yard that is in the heart of Port Coquitlam and is
the second-largest employer in his riding. He said an increasing number of
trains are arriving there carrying diluted bitumen crude that has no other way
to get to foreign markets. ^_^;
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“It’s very dangerous for the Lower Mainland … to have the massive spike in rail
transfer of dangerous goods,” he said.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“The people of Port Coquitlam and Burnaby and New Westminster, with dangerous
goods going on those rail lines, should be concerned about that.”
The shipment of crude oil and diluted bitumen to West Coast ports, including
Prince Rupert, has soared from just 2,133 metric tonnes, or 15,635 barrels, in
2011 to 262,613 tonnes, or just over 1.9 million barrels, in 2013, according to
Transport Canada.
We’re clogging up our rail arteries with dangerous materials
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He said the federal and B.C. government push to improve Asia-Pacific gateway
infrastructure, through improvement to ports and transportation arteries in the
Lower Mainland and Prince Rupert, is hurt because the lack of pipelines puts
pressure on rail systems.
“We’re clogging up our rail arteries with dangerous materials. That’s something
to be concerned about,” he said, noting complaints last year from farmers who
said there was a shortage of capacity to get grain to West Coast ports.
The U.S. State Department, in a report earlier this year on the Keystone XL
pipeline project from Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, said if that
project doesn’t go ahead, the resulting increase in rail transport of oil will
lead to 49 additional injuries and six additional deaths in the U.S. related to
rail accidents.
Greenpeace Canada spokesman Keith Stewart said that while pipelines tend to
leak a larger volume of product into the environment, the rail transportation
option does indeed lead to greater public safety risks because rail yards are
located closer to dense populations.
Related
“I would stress, though, that both can be much safer than they are now,” he
said in an email exchange. “And it is government’s job to both require
companies to make the short-term investments in safety that are required, and
to develop a transition plan to move to cleaner energy in the longer term.”
If Moore is concerned about rail safety his government “could act on that
tomorrow.”
A spokeswoman for Transport Canada said the government has already taken a
number of measures to deal with rail safety since the Lac Megantic tragedy,
including new rules to ensure unattended trains are fully secured.
Moore was asked whether he’s optimistic one of the two proposed pipeline
megaprojects, Enbridge’s to Kitimat and Kinder Morgan’s to Burnaby, will go ahead.
“I’m confident. When? I don’t know, because the dynamics are so challenging.”
Loading Image...
He cited the legal challenges facing Enbridge due to objections from First
Nations along the route, while Kinder Morgan still has to get through a review
by the National Energy Board.
But he said the plunging price of oil in global markets highlights the need for
Canada to diversify its customer base away from the U.S., since some studies
have indicated that a wider market will increase the price Canada fetches for
its oil.
Moore also leveled a blistering attack on opposition parties, saying the NDP is
“against everything” while Justin Trudeau is taking a “flighty” approach to
pipelines.
The Liberal leader opposed Northern Gateway even before the review process was
completed, favoured Keystone XL to the U.S. Gulf Coast, and has delivered mixed
messages — depending, say his critics, on where he’s delivering the message —
on the Kinder Morgan pipeline to Burnaby and TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline
to the Atlantic coast.
“He’s absolutely making it up as he goes along, depending on commodities,
polling and the political environment,” Moore said, pointing to Trudeau’s
recent criticism of the Energy East project after plunging public support for
TransCanada’s initiative.
“That’s irresponsible for a [prospective] prime minister,” he said.
“And the consequence of that is far greater than the impact on those specific
projects. It’ll send a chill to the investment community about what kind of
flighty ad hoc governance you have from a prime minister who just picks and
chooses processes not based on any clear linear regulatory process that is
binding. It’s crazy.”
___________________________________________
'Explain to future generations it was good for the economy . . . . when they
can't farm the land, breathe the air and drink the water'
This is certainly one of the worst, scare-promoting, tarsands-advocating lines
of bullshit from the Harper government to date.
And it clearly underlines the fact that the oil industry cannot guarantee the
safe transport of its bitumen to ANY part of the country. By ANY means.
Time to build more wind turbines and homes with solar panels. These buggers
won't quit until they make NO money from their fracking our country.
__________________________________________
Peter O'Neil, Postmedia News | January 2, 2015
B.C. needs pipeline for public safety, says Tory minister: ‘People of Lac
Mégantic wished they had pipelines’
OTTAWA • Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s B.C. lieutenant said he’s confident a
new oilsands pipeline will eventually be built to the West Coast, and one of
his key arguments for such a megaproject is public safety in the Lower Mainland.
Industry Minister James Moore raised the spectre of the deadly Lac Mégantic
rail disaster that killed dozens in an inferno of blazing oil that engulfed the
Quebec town in the summer of 2013.
“The people of Lac Mégantic wished they had pipelines instead of rail,” said
Moore, who represents the Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam riding.
He pointed to the huge rail yard that is in the heart of Port Coquitlam and is
the second-largest employer in his riding. He said an increasing number of
trains are arriving there carrying diluted bitumen crude that has no other way
to get to foreign markets. ^_^;
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“It’s very dangerous for the Lower Mainland … to have the massive spike in rail
transfer of dangerous goods,” he said.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“The people of Port Coquitlam and Burnaby and New Westminster, with dangerous
goods going on those rail lines, should be concerned about that.”
The shipment of crude oil and diluted bitumen to West Coast ports, including
Prince Rupert, has soared from just 2,133 metric tonnes, or 15,635 barrels, in
2011 to 262,613 tonnes, or just over 1.9 million barrels, in 2013, according to
Transport Canada.
We’re clogging up our rail arteries with dangerous materials
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He said the federal and B.C. government push to improve Asia-Pacific gateway
infrastructure, through improvement to ports and transportation arteries in the
Lower Mainland and Prince Rupert, is hurt because the lack of pipelines puts
pressure on rail systems.
“We’re clogging up our rail arteries with dangerous materials. That’s something
to be concerned about,” he said, noting complaints last year from farmers who
said there was a shortage of capacity to get grain to West Coast ports.
The U.S. State Department, in a report earlier this year on the Keystone XL
pipeline project from Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, said if that
project doesn’t go ahead, the resulting increase in rail transport of oil will
lead to 49 additional injuries and six additional deaths in the U.S. related to
rail accidents.
Greenpeace Canada spokesman Keith Stewart said that while pipelines tend to
leak a larger volume of product into the environment, the rail transportation
option does indeed lead to greater public safety risks because rail yards are
located closer to dense populations.
Related
“I would stress, though, that both can be much safer than they are now,” he
said in an email exchange. “And it is government’s job to both require
companies to make the short-term investments in safety that are required, and
to develop a transition plan to move to cleaner energy in the longer term.”
If Moore is concerned about rail safety his government “could act on that
tomorrow.”
A spokeswoman for Transport Canada said the government has already taken a
number of measures to deal with rail safety since the Lac Megantic tragedy,
including new rules to ensure unattended trains are fully secured.
Moore was asked whether he’s optimistic one of the two proposed pipeline
megaprojects, Enbridge’s to Kitimat and Kinder Morgan’s to Burnaby, will go ahead.
“I’m confident. When? I don’t know, because the dynamics are so challenging.”
Loading Image...
He cited the legal challenges facing Enbridge due to objections from First
Nations along the route, while Kinder Morgan still has to get through a review
by the National Energy Board.
But he said the plunging price of oil in global markets highlights the need for
Canada to diversify its customer base away from the U.S., since some studies
have indicated that a wider market will increase the price Canada fetches for
its oil.
Moore also leveled a blistering attack on opposition parties, saying the NDP is
“against everything” while Justin Trudeau is taking a “flighty” approach to
pipelines.
The Liberal leader opposed Northern Gateway even before the review process was
completed, favoured Keystone XL to the U.S. Gulf Coast, and has delivered mixed
messages — depending, say his critics, on where he’s delivering the message —
on the Kinder Morgan pipeline to Burnaby and TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline
to the Atlantic coast.
“He’s absolutely making it up as he goes along, depending on commodities,
polling and the political environment,” Moore said, pointing to Trudeau’s
recent criticism of the Energy East project after plunging public support for
TransCanada’s initiative.
“That’s irresponsible for a [prospective] prime minister,” he said.
“And the consequence of that is far greater than the impact on those specific
projects. It’ll send a chill to the investment community about what kind of
flighty ad hoc governance you have from a prime minister who just picks and
chooses processes not based on any clear linear regulatory process that is
binding. It’s crazy.”
___________________________________________
'Explain to future generations it was good for the economy . . . . when they
can't farm the land, breathe the air and drink the water'